Warmest congratulations to Clare Hall Professorial Fellow Maria Spillantini, who has been elected as a Member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation. The EMBO comprises of over 2,100 leading life scientists, who are honoured for their research excellence and outstanding achievements in the field. 92 Nobel laureates are amongst those who have previously been elected to the EMBO Membership. Professor Spillantini is one of five Cambridge researchers to be elected this year.

“The new EMBO Members and Associate Members have made immense contributions to fundamental life science research, and, in many cases, their work has paved the way for innovations that have improved lives and livelihoods around the world,” Fiona Watt, EMBO Director said. “As EMBO marks its 60^th anniversary, we celebrate the pivotal roles played by the EMBO Membership in strengthening international life science research and contributing to the EMBO programmes and activities. I send my warmest congratulations to all those elected.”

Professor Spillantini is a molecular neurobiologist who studies neurodegenerative diseases with abnormal filamentous protein inclusions, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Her work has helped to establish the central role played by the assembly of the proteins alpha-synuclein and tau, preparing the ground for the development of mechanism-based therapies. She is a Professor of Molecular Neurology in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, and a Professorial Fellow of Clare Hall.

It is an honour to be elected to the membership of EMBO and to become part of this distinguished group of scientists. This would not have been possible without the insights and hard work of my research group and a number of excellent collaborators. I am looking forward to fruitful interactions with other EMBO members and to be involved in the promotion of high-quality science.

-Professor Maria Spillantini